Almost Enough
by animeangel665
Summary: For Sasuke, almost has never been enough. SasuNaru Implied character death


Honestly, Sasuke Uchiha could have anyone. All he'd have to do is look at a group of girls, point at one, and they would trip over their own feet to follow him wherever he went. Boys were the same. Even Shikamaru would get his lazy self up to follow the Uchiha. That's just how popular Sasuke was.

Naruto knew this better than anyone. Any time he tried to get close to the brunette, a gaggle of girls would appear out of nowhere, some to capture Sasuke's attention and others to reprimand Naruto for trying to catch Sasuke's attention. A vicious cycle.

Despite the fact they had never spoken, never touched each other, never even looked at each other face-to-face, they were enemies. It was a well known fact, just nobody was sure why. When one would walk down the hall the other would immediately turn a corner or engage in an overly enthusiastic conversation with some random person standing next to them until the other left. That was standard protocol. The unwritten rule between both boys. It was to be honored and upheld until they graduated...and maybe even after that.

Unfortunately for Naruto, he hated it.

His poor attempt at trying to be Sasuke's friend when they were younger had been misread by him and his fangirls, thus turning all of them against him, without him even having a chance to explain. At least, that's Naruto's reasoning. All he really knew was that one day Sasuke was friendly with him and the next, it was like he didn't even exist. Tragic for a young boy who only wants to make a friend.

For Sasuke, it was relief.

He didn't know how to react when the blond came to talk to him that first day. His heart started to beat faster and his stomach felt like it was going to explode. He decided at once that he didn't like these feelings and didn't want to be friends with someone who made him feel that way. He told his fangirls to keep him away, which they did for the past seven years. Relief.

Nobody seemed to want to inform Iruka-sensei about this balance when he put Naruto and Sasuke in the same group. The world seemed to crash for everyone (except Sakura). Neither boy really knew what to say so they merely muttered curses under their breath and yelled insults at each other. Partly to show that they didn't want to be on the same team, but mostly to hide the awkwardness of their kiss.

And it was awkward. All seven years of hate and annoyance went down the drain in less than three minutes. Neither Sasuke or Naruto really knew how to respond to the kiss, but their bodies seemed to have this secret knowledge stored away. Fortunately for them, their minds kicked in way before their bodies could and they pulled away immediately.

But it wasn't enough.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sasuke isn't sure what possessed him to protect Naruto from Haku. If you asked him he would say it was because he didn't want to see a comrade die. If you looked at his expression when you asked the question you would see that it was because he cared about him.

The kiss would haunt Sasuke at random moments. He would be going about his day when suddenly he could feel the pressure of Naruto's lips on his. He would keep his expression composed as he wiped his hand across his mouth to try and relieve the pressure. It never worked and it would set Sasuke off to try and find the annoying blond so that he could imagine his lips better.

Naruto wasn't sure why Sasuke's (almost) death affected him so bad. He should have at least been a little happy. His hated rival was gone and he would no longer have to deal with him. But thinking that only brought him a sharp pain to his chest and a long game of 'Search For Sasuke'. Because no matter how hard he tried to deny it, whenever the feeling of Sasuke being gone came up, Naruto would have to see Sasuke in person again just to be sure that he was still here.

Both boys would find each other about five minutes later and would find some lame excuse to be around each other for the rest of the day. Which contradicted everything they did in school but because the fangirls feared Sasuke, there wasn't much anyone could do about it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Leaving was necessary.

Sasuke couldn't stand how weak he was. That despite everything, he couldn't even save the one person who meant anything to him. Naruto. The blond was always getting into danger and Sasuke hated how he could only take the blow for him once before passing out. This kind of weakness made it essential for Sasuke to go.

He hadn't counted on a certain pink-haired ninja to try and stop him.

To be honest, her tears meant nothing to him. She could cry enough to fill a lake and he still wouldn't have stopped. But the moment she mentioned Naruto, all actions came to a halt. She reminded him that his leaving meant he wouldn't be able to come back to the village anymore. Wouldn't be able to see Naruto again.

Those words were almost enough to make him stay. Almost enough to make him turn back around and jump into Naruto's bed. Almost enough to make him fall to his knees and cry for everything and everyone he lost. Almost enough to make him not want to go.

But almost is never enough.

So he walked away from Sakura and from the village, leaving everything behind. He walked away from the one person who almost made him stay.

Naruto.

With that thought in mind he could put one foot in front of the other. The need to protect that boy was enough to make him walk forward, even though all he wanted to do was run back. And the blonde's smile was almost enough to get him through the hell Orochimaru put him through. It was almost enough to make him smile as well.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sasuke came back.

After nearly three years he saw him again. Three years of pure hell and torture.

It was one of the best days of his life.

He could vaguely remember Sakura being there, her bright green eyes a reminder of her last words. They reminded him of how he had proved her wrong. But for a price. He barely acknowledged that there was someone else there before he turned his full attention to Naruto. His hair was as bright as ever and his eyes were a deeper blue then he remembered. Sasuke couldn't resist himself.

He jumped as quickly as he could from the ledge to beside the blond bringing himself as close as possible, without being close enough. His lips lightly grazed the blonde's temple before he brought out katana. Naruto gripped Sasuke's hand tightly, but only for a moment, and Sasuke understood. This would never be enough for them. Not until they could be free. He raised the katana high before plunging straight for Naruto's back, hopefully with enough force to stab them both. If not then Sasuke would finish afterwards.

And if they were lucky, it would be enough.

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**A Naruto Fanfic**

**Thank you for reading **

**I Do ****Not**** own Naruto**

**Just this idea.**

**A/N- This started out as Sasuke's and Naruto's thoughts on certain situations throughout the anime (but eventually changed to just Sasuke) with my own added twist to the different scenes. I actually like how this turned out, though it might be kind of confusing. If you don't understand the ending it means that Sasuke is going to kill Naruto and then kill himself so that they can be "free" in heaven. Please review if you can. They make me smile.**


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